Wilting Life
by Kurohane Ookami
Summary: A one-shot after Fang. It's been seven years, and the government of Itex has returned, sentencing Max and Fang to death. The other Flock members have long died from expiry dates, leaving the two alone. But will Max live through the worst to come?


A/N: What if Fang was killed in front of Max's eyes? What if it really was him?

What is this nightmare I have been thrust into like a bird in a cage?

What is this horrible thing being done to us?

What if none of us come out alive?

So many questions, but only answers can be told.

This nightmare is called mercy killing.

The horrible thing is, we are all going to die here.

And I am sure that none of us will be walking out of here alive.

"NOOOOO!" I screamed, clawing at the cage bars as they slammed on me, locking me in with him.

Fang.

His tousled black hair fell into his eyes, and I could see the unconcealed fear there. Hell, even I was scared as shit.

Trembling, I pressed myself into his comforting embrace, feeling his heart beat underneath my hands. He rubbed circles gently between my wings, right where he knew I loved to be rubbed.

"Don't leave me." I whispered, feeling the raw terror claw its way through my tone. He looked down at me, dark eyes showing me the promise there.

"I promise." he said, honey mellow voice taking just a little of the panic out of me. "But you need to promise me something too, Max."

I nodded slightly, and moving around a little bit, came up with a brown leather thong. Attached to it was a small black piece of down, and a feather shaped locket. I knew the feather belonged to Fang when I took the necklace from him hesitantly.

"Never ever forget me if I can't keep my promise, okay? Never take off this necklace. It's so you will always have something of me with you, close to your heart."

My God, that's the most I have ever heard from him at once. I nodded again, and he slipped the thong over my head. I opened the locket to see a picture of us, probably taken when we were living with Jeb, judging by how young and happy we looked.

I could feel the tears threatening to spill over now, and I wiped at them halfheartedly, scared and sad.

Even though I was a leader of the Flock, in reality, we were only kids, kids who nobody wanted anymore.

"Fang?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." I pulled his face down so I could press my lips to his. His lips responded to mine immediately, and I could taste some of him, with his fresh rain scent on his mouth.

As we pulled back from lack of oxygen, I blushed, looked down. Embarrased, I waited to hear what he had to say.

"Max?"

I looked up again.

"I love you too." he smiled my favorite smile, my heart melted. And his lips came crashing down on mine.

The next day, they took him away from me, and then dragged me out of the cage as well.

I never did see our captors faces, but maybe that was for the best. Never once did they speak either.

Kind of odd.

As soon as we went through hundreds of twisting, turning hallways, into this wierd chamber outside, we were let go. It was then I noticed the barriers above us, blocking us from flying out of here.

I met his eyes, and he gave me a reassuring look, but then he saw the guns being brought out, cocked at him only.

I watched in frozen horror as all the guns fired at once. I watched his eyes go wide with surprise before looking at me lovingly. Then he fell.

I screamed then, not hearing anything but the pounding of my heart, the frantic battle to get to the boy I loved.

And I knew it was too late.

He lay in the large pool of gathering blood that was his own, hardly breathing, not moving. My anguished screams were loud, even with the silent men somehow making noise.

"No, not Fang, not Fang!" I sobbed, tears clouding my vision as I fell beside him, beside his body.

"Max." the word was hardly a breathy whisper.

"Fang. I'm here. I promise. I will never leave you." I cried.

With great effort that I could see, he reached one broken, bloodied hand to stroke my face gently. "It was always you." he admitted. I knew what he was talking about. All the redheads, the scientists, and all the others, he had chosen me. Only me.

"Oh Fang." I sobbed. "I love you. Don't leave! Don't break your promise!" I could tell that trying to stay alive for me was hurting him more.

"Max. I'm sorry. I can't...I can't keep it...I...Love...You..." those eyes, dark and beautiful like a ravens, were clouding over with silver. "Fang." my voice was nothing but a broken cry.

I could tell he was doing his best to live, to say something else, but before I could tell him not to say anything, he murmered to me only, "I won't break my promise. I will never leave you again like I did that one day." I covered my mouth with my hand as his breathing quickened, his breaths shorter, until finally, he was gone.

Then the masked men grabbed me, roughly as I tried to kill them, rip their murdering heads from their shoulders.

"You bastards!" I screamed. "You killed him! Are you happy now? He's gone!"

The last thing I saw before being shoved up against a wall was the gun aimed at my heart.

_Fang..._

Was my last thought before the man pulled the trigger.

A/N: There you go. -sobs- I will never do another fanfic like this again! I promise! I almost cried when I wrote this!


End file.
